Why?
by SqaureEyeS
Summary: Bones questions Booth. Booth tries to give Bones some popular culture and gets beat at a word game.
1. You shoudn't put yourself down

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything.

A/N: I know it isn't very good but I got bored and thought I'd give it a try.

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'Booth?' she lifted her eyes from the fork that was playing with her uneaten pie and looked the agent in the eyes. 

'Yeah Bones?' his brow furrowed, there was a hint of hesitation in her voice and the amount of pie left on her plate indicated she had something on her mind. She was almost sure she was ready to hear the his answer to the question. She looked at her own reflection in his deep brown eyes and saw the worry that was well hidden but not enough to go unnoticed. She'd started so she'd have to finish,

'Why are you here?' she could see the bafflement cloud his eyes and couldn't look into them any longer, she looked back down at her plate pushing around bits of crumbled pastry. She could be pretty cryptic sometimes but most of the time he'd know what she meant anyway, but her question had thrown him.

'What do you mean Bones?' all the different ways he could think of taking this question ran through his mind. This only made him even more confused but her outburst. She had predicted this quite, confused reaction. She had already composed her next question.

'Why are you sitting here, with me, in a cold diner when you could be out with some beautiful woman or at home with a beer watching guys getting a full house in baseball?' He still wasn't sure where she was going with this. He couldn't help chuckling at another one of his partners infamous mixed up culture references, but he decided this time not to correct her, she was obviously serious about her questions and the nervousness he heard for the fist time in her voice made him realize that this was important to her, he had to choose his answers carefully,

'Well Bones, baseball is out of season at the moment so that one was ruled out and in case you haven't notice, Tempe I _am_ out with a beautiful woman.' Brennan stopped rigid fork mid-air, slowly she looked up to Booth expecting him to be smiling, that winning grin that probably got him through high school, but he wasn't. His face was completely serious. She was now looking deep into his eyes again, trying to pick out the joke she thought was obviously hidden in his last comment but she realized that this was no joke, he had meant it, she saw affection and trust, trust that she wouldn't embarrass him by dismissing his compliment with some scientific break down of her facial features and telling him that wasn't what she'd meant. She opened her mouth to speak even though she wasn't sure exactly what she was going to say, but he got there first.

'If you meant by your question what am I doing here with you then my answer is... well because Temperance there is no one else I'd rather be with except maybe Parker, but that's only because he won't roll his eyes at me if I mispronounce one of your fancy scientific words that are about 18 letters long,' she could tell that he was trying to break the tension but they both knew he was failing, so he reverted back to being serious, 'I'm here because if I was at home all I would be able to do is think about you, if I closed my eyes I'd see you, if there was a knock at the door I'd hope it was you even though I'd know it was most likely the pizza guy I called half an hour before. I'm here because just knowing that your in my presence makes me happy. Temperance...' by now she had dropped the fork and he took her hand in his, 'I , I admire you so much, I think that you are so amazing and clever and talented that sometimes I don't know what I'd have done if you hadn't been by my side.'

'But Booth, don't you ever think I'm some times cold and heartless, and that my only real connections are with the dead, that I'm weird' she let he hand still rest in his but averted her gaze to the tablecloth she was picking at with her free hand. As Booth listened to her say all those things about herself his heart felt like it was shrinking, she was so amazing but she didn't know it, and the fact that she could degrade herself like that made him want to take her in his arms, rest her head on his shoulder and hold her all night telling all the things he loved about her over and over again until all her insecurities were wiped away and the things people had called her like 'cold' didn't seem significant any more because she would know that she was loved and that she wasn't cold or heartless but that she was in fact was the contrary,

'Bones you're not in any way heartless. If you were would you care so much about all those people you've never met that you will do anything to put them to rest by finding their killers. Would you have sat at my hospital bedside after I got injured from that bomb at your house when you should have been out having fun on a date. Would you have gone all the way into the desert and been there for Angela when her boyfriend disappeared and then made sure that you found his killer.You didn't have to do any of that but you did, and you did because you care, for everyone, and so what if you have a strong connection with the dead because Tempe that's part of your job, it's what makes you so great at it. You should never listen to the people who put you down because you know what, they're just jealous, you understand' Brennan kept looking into her lap thinking over his words. Booth had never seen her look so defeated, he reached over and lifted her chin so that she was looking straight into her eyes, he needed her to know he was telling the truth, 'You are so amazing, you have to know that and you should never let anyone tell you otherwise, you hear' His heart was breaking at how innocent she looked but as she slowly nodded her her keep her eyes locked with his, he smiled and not the cheesy smile he gives judges when he wants a warrant, a cool confident smile that he hope would portray all his affection to the woman he had wanted to kiss for nearly 3 years, and slowly she smiled back, he took this as a good sign and not wanting to do too far he lifted her hand to his lips and gently kissed it then laid it back down on the table covering it with own for on more moment, '

'Good' and then he took it away and went back to eating his now cold pie, Temperance felt all the warmth disappear from her hand and felt disappointed that he had let go but she knew Booth had opened his heart to her and she couldn't leave it like that, she knew what she had to say what she wanted to say but wondered if she could prove that actions really did speak louder than words

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	2. So, what's the plan?

A/N: Nothing really much happens in this chapter so it's pretty boring but it leads up to the next chapter which should be better. Being English some of our words are different from the American, i've tried to keep it American but some may have slipped having been trained hard not to use American words for GCSE English so if you notice any feel free to point them out and they can be changed.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything Fox has it all.

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While finishing off her pie Brennan was busy working out a plan. Normally she was a very straightforward person and if this had been anyone but Booth she wouldn't of had to think up a plan, but Booth was different, Booth had drawn a line and she knew that it was a line he regretted making, but Booth never goes back on his word, until now. At this quite ominous thought she couldn't help but smile to herself, she was staring to see why Angela meddled in other peoples business so much, scheming was actually really fun.

Booth had noticed the smile, she was up to something, but then again so was he, so he couldn't complain. He had been going over their last conversation in his head trying to figure out the best way to proceed. He hoped that he hadn't been too subtle and that she had gotten the message, he hadn't wanted to let go of her hand, it felt like it made the perfect fit – her hand in his – but he knew Bones well enough to know that she often needed space and that that was probably one of those times. Booth had no time to dwell on that though because he was making a plan. Brennan could be very stubborn sometimes and he had made it his mission to change her mind about one thing, him.

'You finished?' he asked as their bill arrived. It was the first time either of them had spoken in almost twenty minutes. She was still playing around with the bit of food left on her plate, she had been so busy concentrating on her thoughts that it had taken her a few seconds to realize he had spoken to her and even then she wasn't sure of what he had actually said.

'Sorry?' she looked up and was met by Booth confused gaze, but the depth of his chocolate brown eyes made her heart melt.

'I said are you finished with your pie?' he was aware she hadn't been quite with it and avoided rolling his eyes at the fact he had been made to repeat the question even though it was exactly what she would have done.

'Oh right...' she looked down at her plate, it didn't look anything like a pie any more, '...um, yeah sure.' she knew that the plan would have to start as soon as he paid the bill, he always paid the bill now, she had stopped arguing after a month and resigned to just slipping the money into his jacket pocket when he went to the restroom. Booth placed the money in the tray with the bill and turned to his partner, he helped into her coat and as they left the diner he placed his hand onto the small of her back opening the door with the other.

As they reached his car Brennan knew that it was now or never and decided to 'take the plunge' – an expression she still couldn't understand the point of even though Booth spent the best part of a quarter of an hour trying to explain it to her last week.

'Hey Booth?' her voice was a little shaky from nerves, which he picked up on almost immediately. She noticed the new look of concern in his eyes and knew that he had picked up on her nervousness, she'd forgotten he was specifically trained to notice those sorts of things, she tried to hide it with a delicate smile.

'Yeah Bones?' he said trying to predict what was coming next and if it was going to affect his plans.

'You said that I should maybe watch television once in while, right?' She hoped that she was looking more nonchalant than she felt.

'Um, yeah Bones why?' He was pretty sure he was liking where this was going, but he tried not to get his hopes up, you never knew with Bones, one minute she's going one way and then the next she's going in the opposite direction, it could be really hard to keep up sometimes .

'Well, since I don't actually have a working television, I was hoping that you might let me watch yours for a bit, you know if you don't have any plans.' There, that was it, she had said it, all she had to do now was wait for the answer and she was half way there, which was a good thing too as she was pretty sure she felt her knees buckle slightly.

Yup, Booth defiantly liked where she was going, and although this seemed like a strange request from Bones there was no way he could turn her down, even if he was shattered.

'Sure Bones, I was only planning on watching television anyway, and besides it would be nice to have some company.' She mentally sighed with relief, at least the first part was over the only problem was, that just happened to be the east part. What came next, on the other hand might need a little bit more strategy.

It turned out that Booth hadn't needed to put as much thought into the beginning of his plan after all, she seemed to be doing most of the work, inviting herself to his house. All he had to do now was get them there and make sure that he managed to stay awake long enough to talk to her. There where some questions he had for her and there was no way she was going to back out of answering them like she usually does, not while she was sitting on _his_ couch watching _his_ television. A grin spread across his face as he opened the SUV's heavy door for her,

'I'll teach you some good old American culture if I have to stay up all night and play you re-runs of 'The Simpsons'' he shut the door and climbed in the drivers side knowing that tonight was going to change their relationship forever, but then his smile faded as he realized it might not be for the better.

As she sat in the passengers side of Booths FBI grade SUV she couldn't help but smile as she realized that in ten minutes she would be at Booth's making herself at home on his couch watching his television, but with him by her side there was no certainty that she would be paying any attention to the TV.

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If you have any opinions on my story please review, good or bad it's better that I know. Thank you.


	3. Television and Another 'Moment'

**Discla****imer:** I don't own nothin'

A/N: This chapter has very little dialogue and quite a bit of description so it is a bit tough reading sorry.I have tried to adjust Brennan's character so it is more like Bones but I have a strong feeling that I've failed. Anyways tells me what you think, good or bad, it's all helpful.

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The drive to Booth's place had been pretty much silent. Brennan had been too busy in her own thoughts and Booth was concentrating on the road ahead which was still slick from the rain that had been almost non-stop for most of that afternoon, after all he didn't want to crash _now_, not when he was finally getting up the courage tell Bones his true feelings.

Brennan was going through different ways to tell Booth everything but she hadn't had much experience in the careful expression of her emotions, most of the time she said what came into her head but this seemed too important, it was a new feeling, but maybe Booth would expect her to just say it, after all most of the other options she had transposed from bits of soap operas that she had been force to watch by Angela one winter when it was too hazardous to go outside. They mostly involved very little clothing, dim lights and candles and that really wasn't her. It was all really sappy and she'd thought that she had crossed the sappy barrier already today when they were at the diner. She finally figured that it would have to be as blunt as if she were telling him he was being a typical 'alpha male', any other way he would get suspicious because it wasn't 'her' just when was now the question she pondered.

Booth had thought little about what happened once they got to his apartment which was only partly due to all his concentration being taken up by trying not to crash the car. He was never too good to sticking with plans, he liked being spontaneous, playing it by ear. He had tried thinking of a specific strategy but the thing was with Brennan often you couldn't predict her reactions and that made working out conversations in his head difficult, he just had to hope he wasn't wrong about the affection he had seen in when he had looked into her eyes earlier at the diner.

When they reached his apartment Booth got out first and held open Bones' door for her, his first mistake of the night.

'Booth, I think I am perfectly capable of working the door on your car, and don't say that you were being chivalrous because chivalry is just men's way of deluding themselves that they are being kind and not domineering but it is all an attempt to control women whatever you call it.' Brennan then made a point of closing the door herself yanking it away from his hand that was holding the outside handle. She wasn't going give in to Booth's alpha male tendencies, she may be trying to get a possibly life changing confession from him tonight but that didn't mean she was willing to let him control her.

Booth mentally scolded himself, it had been an instant reaction if he'd of thought about it he would have realized that it was a bad idea but it was too late to take it back.

At his door Booth unlocked it and then stood back and guided Brennan over the threshold by placing his hand lightly in the small of her back. At the feel of his touch Brennan looked back over her shoulder. This contact wasn't new, in fact she was quite used to this gesture from Booth but this time it felt different, she could almost feel the heat from his hand penetrating his skin which was impossible because his touch as so light and was through two layers of her clothing. Locking eyes with Booth she gave a timid smile before turning her head back forward and walking through Booths hallway. Her smile had made Booths stomach tingle with butterflies. At first, after the whole car door thing, he thought this might have been another mistake but that look told him it wasn't. He reluctantly had to remove his hand to close and lock his front door. Throwing his keys onto a small table by the door and shrugging off his jacket he followed Bones into the living room.

When his hand slipped form her back she had suddenly felt cold and had to hold back a shiver at the rapid temperature change. She paused in the doorway to Booth's living room, talking in the unusually tidy décor that reminded her of a real estate brochure: large couch, excessively large television, bright sterile lighting and a noticeable lack of art although the things that stood out were the photographs that were dotted around the room. Taking a step into the room she examined the closest of the photos. It was of Parker looking very angelic with his curly blonde hair, his head tipped slightly to the left and what looked like the remains of an ice cream around his mouth, he reminded her of Booth when he was trying to hide something that he'd done wrong, the sickly sweet smile and evidence in plain sight, she felt he lips curl at the picture of Booth that had appeared in her mind.

Booth had entered a few seconds earlier but didn't want to disturb her concentration on the picture. He leant against the door frame watching her, he saw the smile creep to her face. Rebecca had once told him that in that particular picture Parker he had looked so much like his father that it was scary, Booth realized Bones had probably seen the resemblance too, after all nothing got past Dr Temperance Brennan.

Booth shook back the memories, he remembered being exactly like Parker when he was his age, and walked past Bones who instantly replaced the picture. He turned on the television which crackled from static and he picked up the remote passing it to Bones,

'You know how to use this don't you Bones, they call it the remote, it changes the channels, if you want some help I could...'

'Booth I think in perfectly capable of using a remote control, I have used one before and even if I hadn't I'm sure I couldn't have been too hard to figure out, you can use it so it can't be too technical'. Brennan had remained totally deadpan even though this was her attempt at trying to retaliate to Booth's teasing.

Okay so he had deserved that, but when did Bones learn a comeback like that? He shrugged it of submitting to never understanding her remarkable but complex brain. he wandered into the kitchen, reaching the fridge before turning back to Bones.

'You want a drink Bones?' he reached for the fridge door, skimming it's contents which reminded him he needed to go shopping, 'I've got beer, water, and a half drunk bottle of wine, but that's been there about a week so I wouldn't recommend it in fact i should throw that out.' He also needed to clean out his fridge apparently, 'Oh and I also have a juice box, I'm sure Parker won't mind if you really want that, it's grape.' he looked over his shoulder giving his best charm smile in Bones direction, she turned her face showing the least bit of amusement until he took the juice from the fridge and shook it slightly trying to entice her, the small cardboard box looking tiny in his large strong hands. The illusion caused by Booth's large frame brought a lightness to Brennan's eyes, not enough to create a full smile but enough for Booth to acknowledge the change.

'Fine. What'll it be?'

'Waters good thank you.'

'One water coming up. Ice?' He retrieved his beer and a bottle of water from the fridge swinging the door shut and placing the bottles on the worktop.

'No thank you.' While Booth was sorting out drinks it turns out Brennan was having a little trouble with the remote, it was bigger than the ones she had used before and there was just so many buttons, how was she supposed to know which ones did what. She was randomly pressing them hoping something would happen but she was still staring at a black screen. Pressing one of the larger ones she felt a jolt of relief and if she was honest excitement when something happened, but all that disappeared when she found that she was just looking at a blue screen instead of a black one.

Having poured their drinks into glasses Booth returned to her side, he placed the glasses on coasters on the coffee table and stood back up crossing his arms over his chest,

'Having a little trouble there are we Bones' he couldn't help a little grin, Temperance Brennan needed his help, with a TV remote of all things.

'Well I'm sure that statistically if I kept guessing I would eventually find the right button but I think that quickest way to do this is if you guide me in the direction of the correct one and we could perhaps save ourselves some time.' Booth gave a chuckle, she could have just said 'yes' but then again Bones never did anything the easy way, why use one word when you could use thirty to the same effect.

'I'll take that as a yes. You have to press the down button there..' he crossed his arm over her to indicate the button he meant, '..then the one that says 'guide' on it to get a list of what's on now' he dropped his arm figuring she could read where it said guide. All of a sudden a blue and yellow screen appeared and classical music drifted from Booth's surround sound. Brennan smiled at her accomplishment and moved past in front of Booth to sit on his couch. As she walked past him Booth could smell the faint scent on vanilla and lavender and had to stop himself from breathing in too much and looking like an idiot sniffing air. Regaining composure he went and sat next to Bones, sinking into the deep soft leather, and watched her flip through channels until she came across something that might interest her. Eventually she came across C.S.I : Las Vegas, he should have known that she would pick the one program that was most like her job.

When Brennan first came across the program she thought it was a documentary but she soon realized that it couldn't be, there where too many factual errors, all of which she expressed to Booth who persisted to tell her to shush and watch. He told her that they had to bend the rules of reality otherwise they'd never solve a case, to which she retorted that they solve cases every day and do not have that option, Booth replied, 'yes, but that's because your team are brilliant, andyou have me' which she couldn't bring herself to deny, which was in no way effected by the amazing charm smile he was flashing her.

After the disaster of C.S.I. it was his turn to choose a program, he figured 'The Simpsons' would be a good bet, it was a cartoon, they are allowed to go beyond reality, she couldn't pick that apart. Boy, was he wrong. The first few minutes she had been silence and he had taken this as a good sign, but it turned out to be the calm before the storm. She had been gathering all her comments up till the commercial break at which point she almost exploded in a long rant about their anatomical in correctness and their extremes in social living and American culture among many other continuity errors she had picked up on. Booth had tried explaining the concept of a cartoon and its displacement of reality, meaning they could get away with a lot more through the censors of television because technically they weren't human and not real but she wasn't falling for it.

After a second painful episode of 'The Simposons' Booth turned off the television they were getting nowhere and he was exhausted trying to explain everything to her. He looked up at the clock and realised they hadn't had chance to talk and they'd already been there two hours.

'So..' he had to find something to keep her there.

'So..' she didn't want to leave yet, they may not have had time to talk but she was just really enjoying his company. Every so often when they were watching those idiotic programs she had stolen glances at him, smiling to herself involuntarily, and even though she would probably never admit it to him, she had picked on the programs just so that she could hear his voice. It was not something she had ever found herself doing before and was frankly quite embarrassed by it, but she was defiantly feeling something she had never felt before and it was changing her, he was reaching her heart and she was letting go, she was almost ready to put her full trust in someone after so many years and she was so happy that it was him she would be giving it to.

'So...' she repeated, ' Hey, do you have scrabble, I haven't played that since I beat a boy at a foster home once and he didn't take it too well. He threw the board at me and told me that I'd cheated. I didn't understand what he meant, I thought I'd played by the rules, but he insisted I was hiding tiles and told my foster parents.' He saw sadness start to creep into her eyes and got really defensive, moving closer to her. When he saw she was about to go on her took her hand in his and rubbed it reassuringly. 'Mr Hill, my foster dad, shouted at me and called me a cheater and said that he hated cheaters,.' she paused trying not to let the emotions take hold, ' when I told him that I hadn't cheated he shouted even louder and called me a liar _and_ a cheater and told me that he didn't want me in his house any more.' Her eyes filled with tears as she recalled his face, boiling red, spit almost coming from his mouth in rage. She remembered the tears rolling quietly down her sixteen year old cheeks, she really hadn't done anything wrong. 'That was the last night I stayed with the Hill's.' A tear now rolled down her cheek and Booth couldn't hold back any more. He encased his arms round her back, her face resting against his shoulder. She let him hold her close and pulled her arms from between their bodies and placed them on his back as he began rubbing circles on her back and tears still fled from her eyes.

He began to speak soothing words in her ear, 'Temperance, you don't need to worry any more. I'm here Temp, and there is no way that I will ever willingly leave you, you know that. I will always protect you.' he felt her nod against his chest. He released the embrace and looked into her heartbreakingly sad eyes, 'You've gone through so much, but it has made you the person that you are today and I know, just by seeing the truth in your eyes that you did not cheat and I promise to always believe in you and what you say, but I will always be able to tell if you are lying.' Brennan wiped at her eyes and forced a smile at Booth,

'Thanks Booth , I know.' Brennan was reassured by Booth just being there looking at her, She hadn't meant to release all that about her past but with Booth it just seemed to come out and she had no control over how much she disclosed, she wondering what was wrong with her, twice in one night she had had to have Booth look into her eyes and tell her how amazing she was even if she had been told otherwise in the past. She was going to have to think of some ways to thank him for that in her own way.

'Maybe Scrabble isn't such a good idea after all what about Monopoly, Parker loves that game.' He wished that he could make her forget her passed and be there just for her future, it was weird but seeing all that sadness in her eyes nearly made him cry too and he was embarrassed just by the fact that he thought he might. What did Bones do to him?

'No I want to play scrabble.' she reassured him with a smile,' because I know that that is one thing you will never win at.' Her smile widened and Booth feigned shock, he knew it was the truth, before leaving her to get the requested board game, making sure she was okay one last time before he left her alone.

She watched him leaving, feeling the room empty as he walked out of her view. She could still feel where he had rubbed her back and held her shoulders, she could hear his heartbeat against his chest, feelings she new would get her to sleep that night.

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A/N 2: If you feel like imputing any ideas for the next chapter feel free. And I also need some really long scientific words for Bones to play in scrabble, the nerdier the better, so if you have any really good ones I'd like them, Thank You 


	4. Scrabble Anyone?

A/N: There is only one more chapter after this and is already written so it should be up tomorrow. By the way it's really hard to plan a game of scrabble and i know a lot of this doesn't make sense and has no reason but you don't have to read it. 

Disclaimer: I do not own Booth, Brennan or Scrabble.

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When Booth returned from Parker's room where he kept all the games he found Bones sitting cross legged on his floor, looking at her fidgeting fingers, he looked at her curiously his eyebrows coming together creasing his forehead. 

'Erm...Bones?' Brennan looked up at him and smiled and reached for the game in his hands. She noticed the confusion in his face but couldn't work out what had confused him.

'What?' he had let go of the game and casually put his hands in his pockets. After she hadn't attempted to explain her position Booth realized that she didn't think that she looked odd sitting on her own on his deep carpeted floor.

'Bones, why are you on the floor?' It was then that it dawned on her that she had probably looked really stupid sitting in the middle of his floor. She'd always associated board games with sitting on the floor, she didn't really know why.

'We can sit at the table if you prefer, but whenever I played with Russ when we where kids we always sat on the floor.' she went to get up but Booth stopped her, maybe it would be fun to sit on the floor like a child again. 

'It's okay Bones, we can sit on the floor.' he hiked up his pants and sunk down onto the floor opposite Bones who was setting out the board between them. Booth watched as she gathered the tiles that had spilled out of the bag and into the box. A piece of hair had fallen in front of her face and he fought the urge to push it back behind her ear so that he could see her face fully. She new that he was watching her and could have sat up and told him to stop but she didn't, she liked that he was admiring her, it made her feel almost special, that she was good enough for the admiration of Agent Seeley Booth. 

Brennan had finished gathering the tiles and sat up looking at Booth who she noticed had quickly changed where he was looking when she had lifted her head. She passed him a rack to put his pieces on and help out the small green bag, 

'Pick seven, and no looking' Booth reached into the bag turning his face away so he couldn't be accused of cheating. He counted out seven tiles and placed them in front of him. _Damn _he thought looking at the letters in front of him, S, H, P, L, T, O, W. The last time he had played this game had been with Parker one Christmas and had had a very unlucky run of really bad letters, once he had Q, N, L, W, X, Z, J, honestly. Parker had won and after the embarrassment Booth said that he would never play again and now he was playing with the cleverest person he knew, he was going down for sure. 

Brennan handed the bag to Booth a reached in to get her tiles she got: I, X, L, D, N, S, E

The fist word Booth place was 'sit' starting at the center square. He probably could have found a better word but it was late, he was destined to lose anyway and he really couldn't be bothered, he picked out three new letters and put them on his tile stand. Bones was taking score and almost laughed at Booth's first word. She looked carefully at her own letters and then placed 'listen' vertically using Booth's 'T'. Booth could see that it was likely to be a short game even though he had expected a more scientific word, he decided he would have try and at least get some points. 

After taking a while to consider his letters Booth was quite pleased that he was able to add a P and an O to the beginning of his previous word and TION to the end creating 'position'. He looked up to see if bones was impressed by this. She saw his expectant look and started clapping softly and at a very slow pace. Booth looked at her with slight confusion, _was she being sarcastic?_This surprised him as usually she doesn't even pick up when he is being sarcastic. 

'Bones, are you being sarcastic?' He was partially offended but partly impressed by the fact that she actually knew how to be sarcastic. 

'Er.. I was trying to be. Wasn't I doing it right. Hodgins did it to Zach once when he said that the victim had been hit by a heavy object when a large crack was visible in the skull. I heard him explain that it wasn't a sign of praise but was in fact the opposite. Hodgins said that..' she paused trying to remember his exact phrasing, ' he said that a blind monkey could have figured it out and it wouldn't have taken two hours squinting to do it either.' 

Booth shook his head and started to chuckle. Trust Bones to be able to pick up the correct use and meaning of sarcasm from a monkey analogy but still couldn't understand one of his simple pop culture references. 

Brennan wasn't quite sure what was so funny, she was pretty sure she had done it right. She decided to leave Booth to regain his composure will she made her next move. Looking from the board to her new array of tiles Bones smiled at the word she found. Picking up four of her tiles she slowly placed them in reverse order in front of Booth's latest word, deliberately making the tile clunk as they hit the board. Having stopped laughing at the revelations of his partner he looked down at the new word on the board, it was one he had heard before but wasn't sure where and what it's meaning was. Looking up at Bones he raised an eyebrow.

'Juxtaposition?' Brennan smiled.

'Yeah' Booth didn't doubt that it was a real word but was still intrigued by it's meaning, he gave Bones his best confused look hoping she would elaborate. She sighed and rolled her eyes but began to explain.

'A juxtaposition is when two things are used to describe something but the both mean opposite things.' Booth was now genuinely confused. 'I'll give you an example.' she stopped to think of one he could possibly relate to.

'Okay. I read this article the other day about reality TV.' Booth again raised an eyebrow as he highly doubted that the article was in anyway scientific and Bones didn't even have a television so why would she be interested in an article about reality television shows. Brennan saw the look and got defensive, 

' I was at Angela's because she had persuaded me to go out with her and being typically Angela she wasn't ready when I got there so I picked up one of magazines, but that's besides the point. Anyway the title was 'Artificial Reality'. The two words juxtapose each other because something cannot be both.' Bones looked up to see if this explanation had been successful, the nod of his head informed her that it had been and she felt quite pleased at this. Satisfied he had learnt something new today Booth moved on to his next word

The next two words to be put down were 'top' by Booth and 'cytoplasm' by Bones. Booth hadn't needed to question the meaning of that word as he remembered it from one or other of his high school biology lessons. It had stuck in his mind because it reminded him of the ectoplasm on 'Ghostbusters'. He knew it was part of a cell and had been explained to him as like a jelly or goo. 

Booth decided to make a last ditch attempt at trying to actually gain some points but a look at his letters dashed that idea. In the end he submitted to placing 'help'. 

Brennan looked at him sympathetically. She could tell by the look in his eyes he had been trying but thought that this was a message.

'You're not doing that badly Booth. Some of us just have a natural, ability to play this game other don't. It all depends on how your brain processes and configures the information it is given...' 

Booth hadn't meant his word as a plea for Bones to help him in the game by not having her words be so scientific or long, it was just the word he found, but as Bones still babbled on about the inferiority of her brain to his or whatever it was she was talking about Booth realised that he had found the best, if not extremely cheesy way of telling Bones everything he had wanted to all night. He had been trying to gain the courage, but now all he had to do was spell it out. 

When he came out of his own world he noticed Bones had placed another typically squinty word but he wasn't really interested in her words any more, all he knew was that his next few words had to be planned carefully.

Five minutes later Booth had put down all of his pre-planned words. He had been lucky enough to have had the letters he required when he wanted them. Bones had just finished writing Booth's latest word on the score board. She realized that Booth wasn't really trying any more, she looked through his last few words. The last three caught her particular attention, going down she noticed they read 'talk, to, me'. She looked up confused,

'Booth?' Booth looked into her eyes and then deliberately back down at the board. Bones followed his adjusted gaze noticing that some of the tiles where missing. 

Booth held the eight small yellow tiles in his hand. Hoping that she couldn't see him shaking, he slowly began to place the first letter on the board. 'I' He then picked out the next letter from the bundle in his hand and put it down leaving a gap between the letters, 'L' he then picked out and placed the third next to the previous, 'O'. He rummaged through the pieces for the next letter and was about to put it down when Brennan reached out her hand to stop him, clasping his wrist with her delicate fingers. 

Booth looked up confused and started to feel dread build in the pit of his stomach. He looked into her eyes and realized that for the second time that night tears had started to form, clouding over that amazing blue, but the difference this time was that he was the one who had caused them and his heart began to break.

'Booth. Don't.'

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A/N 2: Tell me what you think. Thanks. 

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	5. The One

A/N: I know i promised it would be updated quickly but my sister came up for the holiday and my nan's been in hospital so I've been out a lot recently, but here it is. Be warned it is a little OOC and is as fluffy as a Labradoodle puppy, but aren't ya glad it's over. 

**Disclaimer:** I have no rights to any of the characters or other recognizable features in this story. 

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Booth could see a pleading in her eyes. He no longer had dread in the bottom of his stomach, it was now fully coursing through his veins, his heart began to pound against his chest and sweat was starting to bead on his forehead. He had probably just ruined everything they had between them, their friendship and their partnership and with three square pieces of plastic. How could he have been so stupid. He looked down at the offending pieces that lay out in the board, one thing was for sure, he would never ever play scrabble again. 

Brennan was still holding on to his wrist, she couldn't bring herself to let go afraid he might run away in rejection. Booth returned his gaze to her face ready to beg for her forgiveness, he had to save their partnership even if their friendship could never be restored. 

Just as he was about to speak he was stopped by Bones' quiet trembling voice. There was a weakness to it he had never heard before, not even when she talked about her childhood, 

'Booth.' This was all she said but was enough to send another wave of dread, guilt and nausea through him, he had hurt her really bad. He couldn't look at her any more he wasn't ready to see the pain he had caused.

Bones could feel herself start to shake a little, she wasn't sure she was ready to end their friendship but knew she had to. 

'Booth, I don't want it spelling out for me.' Her gaze had been focused on the top of his head, at first willing him to look at her, but as her words had sunk in Booth quickly lifted his head she instantly looked at the ground again, releasing his hand in the process. 

Booth wasn't quite sure he had heard it right. He had looked up thinking he had seen a glimmer of hope that all was not destroyed in what she had saidbut when she wouldn't look at him or touch him he had to go over her words in his head. After a few seconds of repeating the words over and over Booth started to feel confused. 

When there was a silence she hadn't been expecting Brennan looked up to see the confusion on his face, maybe she hadn't been clear enough, she would have to clarify her meaning.

'I don't want scrabble pieces to tell me how you feel Booth. I want you to tell me, I want you to say it because believe it or not I trust that every word that comes out of your mouth is the truth, I trust that if you say that everything will be okay in the end that it will be and you'll be there to make sure that it is, I believe you when you say that you will never leave me even when I know that there is no way you predict what happens in the future but I know that you will try, so I want to know that you are telling the truth when you tell me how you feel and the only way I can be one hundred percent sure of that is if you actually tell me in your own words not with plastic letters.' Bones gasped form breath as she had almost forgot to breath through that whole thing, she had just wanted to say it and get it over with.

Booth had been trying to keep up with the speed in which she was speaking that again he had to slow them down in his mind to be able to take them in. Then it what she had said hit him, she hadn't stopped him because she didn't want him to say it, she had stopped him because she wanted to _hear it. _Relief washed over him and a delicate smile appeared on his lips. This time he was going to do it properly. 

He reached for one of her hands that where fidgeting in her lap. She watched his hand slowly go to take one of hers, she stopped fidgeting and let him take it, they had both been looking down and they make eye contact through their lashes, bringing their face up at the same time, looking into the others eyes. She felt the warmth of his hand over hers spread up her arm and could swear it had reached her heart.

'Temperance, Bones, I, You. You mean so much to me. There are times when you, like everyone else does at some point, you can frustrate me so much that I can't think straight, but it didn't matter because most of the time just sitting next to you made me feel happy, even if I didn't admit it to myself. There were a few times, back in the beginning, when I had, stupidly, wished that you could be more like a normal person, but I realised, too late, that you are as normal as every other person I've met. You where just yourself and I was stupid to think that I had wanted you to be anything else because the things that make you different are the things I love more that anything else about you. If you had changed you wouldn't be the Temperance Brennan that I , that I fell in love with. The one who never gets my pop culture references, the one who is so smart that sometimes I wish I had a dictionary so that I could understand what she says. The one who is never selfish and always listens to me when I drone on about my army days. The one who doesn't object when I turn up at her doorstep at obscene hours with take out, the one...'

'Booth, why are talking about me like I'm not here?' Booth chuckled, especially since he could tell she wasn't joking.

'The one who always has to correct me, even when I'm in the middle of pouring my heart out to her.I fell in love with you Tempe. I don't know when it happened but I know why, because you are the smartest, mast amazing woman I know and there is no way that I would have been able to resist.'

Making sure that she was looking directly into his eyes by placing his other hand gently under her chin he took his last breath of a man with a secret,

'I love you Temperance, my Bones, with all my heart and there is nothing you or anyone else can do to change that.'

Tears had started to reform in her eyes and as she blinked one rolled down her cheek. Booth wiped it away with the pad of his thumb and hoped they were tears of joy, he was relieved to see no pain in her eyes, non at all. 

'Hey come on Bones, ' he said in soothing tones, 'you're going to get the scrabble board wet.' His expression had not changed from when he had been admitting all of his feelings and Brennan couldn't help but smile. She was ready for her own confession. 

'Based on scientific fact I used to believe that the feeling of love was purely endorphins causing extreme feelings of happiness which some people would transpose as love. I didn't believe that they were a stable feeling, something that could last. I ignored them and expected them to go away, but two years into our partnership and still whenever I looked at you I had to suppress a smile.' At first Booth had been worried this wasn't going to go in his favour, but now he was positive it was and his heart warmed and a smile lightened his face. 

'Since I met you Booth I have felt every single emotion you can name and one more which I couldn't name. That anonymous emotion was the one that made me feel that slight pain in my heart which I when I saw you with Tessa or Cam. The one that in an argument I could feel alongside the initial anger. The one that kept me thinking of you when I should have been working or writing my latest book. The one that forced me to pray to a god I don't even believe in when you were missing at a last attempt to get you back, sitting next to me at the diner. The one, after three years of deliberation, I can finally name. It's love, love in it's purest kind, love for you Seeley Booth.'

She cupped the hand he wasn't still commandeering around the side of his face .

'Booth you've made me believe in love, something I never thought I would admit to. I trust you, I admire you, and I love you, with all my mind, beyond all reasonable doubt and I'm almost positive that I could ever love anyone any more than I do you.' Her face displayed a seriousness that he realized must have been similar to his a few moments earlier. She still had her hand around his face and her thumb was now brushing his jaw a motion that made him tingle. He couldn't just sit there any more, now was the moment he'd been waiting for, three long years he had waited and he wasn't going to waste any time. 

He stood up, pulling Bones with him by the hands they were still connected by, neither one wanted or felt the need to let go. He moved them away from the game that lay abandoned on the floor so that they could stand closer together. He pulled her in so that their bodies were nearly touching and lowered his face so that they where only centimetres apart.

'Temperance?' His voice was low and husky, he knew he was teasing her but he couldn't resit the temptation.

'Mm-Hm' was the only reply she could manage, with his face so close to hers she was having trouble controlling her breath let alone speech.

'Do you think it would be okay if I kissed you now. You wouldn't, you know kick me in the testicles or anything.' A grin swept across his face even though he knew he would pay for that comment later.

Bones didn't look amused but her reply was to wipe away that grin in a way she knew they would both enjoy. So without further hesitation she closed the gap that had taunted her for the last few seconds and the partners shared their first kiss, well their fist kiss that wasn't arranged by a puckish Caroline anyway. 

The kiss was slow, deep and thoughtful and as Bones reached for Booths hair and he pulled them even closer together by wrapping his arms around her hips they both had the sam thought: _Wow_

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Cheesy? Yeah I know but what else could I do. Thank you to everyone who read my fist story and a special thanks to all those who reviewed with kind comments. And again sorry for updating so late. Please Review and have a good Easter

SquareEyeS 


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